Թֱ Statement on Trump Administration Plan to Use New Jersey Military Base to Detain Immigrants

The Trump administration plans to use New Jersey’s Fort Dix to detain 1000 people who are non-citizens, drastically escalating its use of the U.S. military to carry out its cruel anti-immigrant agenda.

July 25, 2025 11:00 am

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WASHINGTON — The Trump administration announced it will began using Fort Dix, a U.S. Army installation that is part of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in South New Jersey, to hold potentially thousands of people while ICE attempts to deport them.

This is another disturbing expansion of the Trump administration's use of the military domestically and its rapid build out of immigration detention, coming on the heels of the newly-passed budget reconciliation bill's $170 billion to turbocharge deportations and detention. While the military base will initially hold 1,000 immigrants, the Department of Defense has approved an expansion to detain up to 3,000 immigrants. The Department of Defense has reportedly also agreed to allow the Department of Homeland Security to use its bases to detain 400 immigrants at the infamous Guantanamo Bay military prison in Cuba, at least 1,000 at Camp Atterbury in Indiana, and 5,000 at Fort Bliss in Texas.

Media reports also indicate that the Trump administration will deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to ICE detention centers nationwide – including at military bases.

For months Trump has been setting the stage to repurpose the military domestically as part of his own deportation force.

Sarah Mehta, deputy director of policy and government affairs for the Equality Division at the Թֱ, issued the following statement in response:

“President Trump’s use of military bases for his cruel deportation drive is as disgraceful as it is reckless. Detention camps on military bases harken to some of the worst chapters of American history, including Japanese internment, and are a total affront to the values of this country.

"President Trump’s personal deportation force is now roping in the armed forces. Detaining immigrants on military bases will only make it more difficult to access lawyers and see family members. ICE detention camps are already notorious for violating detainees’ due process rights; these cruel practices should not extend to Fort Dix or other ‘novel’ detention sites.

Members of Congress stop the use of the military – including its bases – for the Trump administration’s cruel immigration practices."

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